The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Texas Tech
Texas Tech earns 5-2 victory against No. 5 Softball
04.11.2012 | Softball
April 11, 2012
LUBBOCK, Texas - Raven Richardson went 1-for-2 with a home run and four RBI Wednesday as the Texas Tech Red Raiders beat the No. 5/5 Texas Longhorns, 5-2, in a Big 12 Conference contest at Rocky Johnson Field. The win by Texas Tech snapped a nine-game losing streak against Texas as the Red Raiders salvaged a win in the three-game series after Texas won two straight last month in Austin.
Cara Custer improved to 19-6 for Texas Tech (32-9, 5-4) by allowing two runs on four hits in the complete game. Blaire Luna (13-2) lasted only 3 2/3 innings for Texas, who dropped its third straight contest. Luna allowed three runs on five hits with three walks, three strikeouts and two hit batters.
Nadia Taylor's RBI single in the first scored Lexy Bennett for the early 1-0 Texas lead. Taylor Hoagland walked in the third and would score on Bennett's RBI double to right center as Texas led, 2-0, before the Red Raiders took control.
Perez singled to lead off the fourth for the Red Raiders against Luna. Holley Gentsch singled to advance pinch-runner Kermitria Ward to second before Richardson clubbed Luna's 1-0 pitch over the fence in left for the three-run homer. Cydney Allen knocked in Ward with a single in the fifth and Richardson would draw a bases-loaded walk to push the Texas Tech lead to three runs.
The Longhorns were able to load the bases with one away in the sixth, but Custer struck out pinch-hitter Marlee Gabaldon and Taylor Thom to end the inning. Custer would retire the Longhorns in order in the seventh to close out the victory.
Texas continues Big 12 play with a three-game series at Kansas this Friday-Sunday (April 13-15) series. Friday's game in Lawrence starts at 5 p.m. with a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and noon start on Sunday. Gametracker live stats, along with a live Twitter feed (@TexasSoftball), for all four games will be available on TexasSports.com.
TEXAS 101-000-0---2-4-0 TTU 000-320-x---5-6-3WP - Custer (19-6) LP - Luna (13-2) Records: Texas (32-5, 6-3), Texas Tech (32-9, 5-4)
Luna, Fox (4) and Ogle. Custer and Gentsch.
Post-Game Quotes
Head coach Connie Clark
On not being able to find a rhythm today: We just weren't able to get into a rhythm with our pitchers today. Blaire (Luna) and Rachel (Fox) struggled with finding that rhythm. We did have a couple of opportunities in needing a timely hit at the end. It was tough to get into a rhythm today. I thought we had a great workout this morning. I think the competitive spirit and energy was there to start the game. We gave them a lot of continuous, favorable counts and it was only a matter of time before (Texas Tech) was going to take advantage of it. Our focus now will be on the final segment of the season, beginning this weekend. It matters how we will bounce back and I'm actually excited to see how we bounce back.
On the focus for the final four weeks of the season: The nature of our game is that sometimes you get that bounce, sometimes you don't. I'm excited that we have a day of travel where we can get in and sit down as a group and visit about the final segment of the season. We want to talk about how we are going to do it and what our roles will be. This final stretch is where you really want to see things come together. We told the team that this is the time where we have to stay close together as a team and deal with adversity. I'm excited to have that day tomorrow to talk through things and then see how we rebound. I feel really good about this group and believe this will stick together.
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